Fruits!

1. Fruits! Weatherford

2. Key Points • The professional chef and food service manager must be able to select fruits that are high in quality, fresh, and appropriate for the recipe or dish. • Because they are so perishable, fruits require extra care from selecting to receiving to storage to serving. • Fruits derive their sweetness from fructose, a natural form of sugar. • There are summer, winter, and tropical fruits.

3. Summer Fruits • Berries • Cherries • Grapes • Melons • Peaches • Nectarines • Plums • Pears

4. Summer Fruits • Berries are highly perishable and fragile, and include strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries, and blackberries.

5. Summer Fruits • California seedless and Napoleon Red are two of the most popular varieties of grapes. • All varieties of grapes must be washed thoroughly to remove all traces of industrial insecticides.

6. Summer Fruits • Melons are categorized into 2 groups: sweet melons and watermelons. • Sweet melons include cantaloupe, crenshaw, and honeydew. These have a rough, netted skin and soft fleshy interior. • Watermelons are larger in size and have a smooth, thick green skin and light, crisp texture.

7. Summer Fruits Cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots are called drupes because they have a central pit enclosing a single seed. • Peaches are available in 2 varieties: freestone and clingstone. • Freestone flesh separates easily from the pit. Clingstone flesh clings to the pit.

8. Summer Fruits • Plums come in many shades of green, red, and purple, and are either dessert or cooking plums. • Damson is the most well-known cooking plum.

9. Summer Fruits • The most common variety of pear include Bartlett, Bosc, d’Anjou, and Seckel. • A properly ripened pear will have a sweet fragrance and be tender on the stem end.

10. Winter Fruits • Citrus fruits • Apples

11. Winter Fruits • Citrus fruits are characterized by thick skins, aromatic oils, and segmented flesh. • Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, tangelos, and tangerines are most common. • All citrus fruits are high in vitamin C.

12. Winter Fruits • Apples are the most commonly used and available fruits. • The most popular varieties include Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Rome, McIntosh, and Granny Smith. • Tart apples are used for cooking and baking. • Sweet apples can be eaten raw.

13. Tropical Fruits • Tropical fruits are named for the climatic conditions under which theyre grown. • They include: Bananas Figs Dates Kiwis Mangos Papayas Pomegranates Passion fruit Pineapple Coconut

14. Tropical Fruits • Bananas are the most common tropical fruit, and are rich in carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and potassium. • Figs are a versatile fruit that can be eaten raw, or used in baking. • Kiwis have a flavor similar to strawberries. They are an excellent garnish and add flavor and texture to fruit salads.

16. Tropical Fruits • Mangos are juicy with good flavor and texture. • Papayas are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and are most flavorful when eaten raw. • Pineapple shells are attractive decorations to hold the fresh fruit. • Coconut meat is eaten raw, cooked in many dessert recipes, and pressed to make coconut oil.